Tim Cook expresses support for federal privacy plan to lawmakers

San Francisco: Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote a letter to US lawmakers voicing his support for a recent bipartisan effort to draft a comprehensive federal privacy law.

In the letter, which was obtained by AppleInsider, Cook echoes many of his past talking points on federal privacy legislation. He said he was “encouraged” by the draft proposals recently introduced by a bipartisan group of legislators.

The legislation was introduced on June 3 by Representative Frank Pallone, the House Energy and Commerce Chair, and Senators Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Roger Wicker, ranking members of the Senate Commerce Committee, the report said.

Cook’s letter is addressed to those three, as well as Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Dubbed the “American Data Privacy and Protection Act”, the bipartisan bill would provide a standard on what kind of data companies can harvest from Americans across the US. It would also ban pay-for-privacy practices and would enforce high levels of data security.

The bill would pre-empt state consumer data privacy laws, except for Illinois biometric privacy protections and a section of California privacy law concerning data breaches.

It also includes a private right of action, which would allow individuals to sue companies for alleged privacy violations, the report said.